Rajasthan Royals (RR) head coach Kumar Sangakkara revealed an interesting anecdote involving Vaibhav Sooryavanshi during IPL 2026 and heaped praise on his confidence. The 15-year-old, who recently concluded his second season with the one-time champions, finished as the leading run-getter of the tournament with 776 runs to his name. Ahead of Sooryavanshi’s potential T20I debut, Sangakkara spilt the beans on an instance when Vaibhav had promised to hit 13 sixes in a game and almost delivered on it with utmost ease.
How Sooryavanshi impressed Sangakkara, RR teammates
Speaking to Sky Cricket, Sangakkara revealed that just before RR’s run-chase against LSG commenced in the IPL 2026 fixture on May 19, Sooryavanshi had winked at him and had assured him not to worry. The 15-year-old then went to his teammates Lhuan-dre Pretorius and Donovan Ferreira and told them that he planned on hitting 13 sixes and that they would have to do the rest of the job. Sooryavanshi nearly fulfilled his promise as he hammered 10 sixes, leaving Pretorius, Ferreira and Sangakkara in awe.
“This year, we were playing Lucknow Super Giants. We had to chase 220 to win the game and stay in the competition. We fielded first. Vaibhav is walking out, he winks at me and says, ‘Coach, don’t worry. It’s done.’ He walks into the dressing room and tells Donovan Ferreira & Lhuan-dre Pretorius, ‘Listen, the two of you. I am going to hit 13 sixes now, once I do that, you just do the rest.’ He hit 10. When he was on five sixes, Donovan and Pretorius thought, ‘What is he talking about?’ Then they suddenly sat down and said, ‘We better start counting this down because this kid is actually going to do it.’ So, that is the level of confidence he has,” Sangakkara said.
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi scored 93 off 38 balls in that game against LSG, striking 7 fours and 10 sixes at a strike rate of 244.74. His blitzkrieg at the top of the order allowed RR to chase down the 221-run target with ease in 19.1 overs. The 15-year-old was named the Player of the Match.
Sooryavanshi finished IPL 2026 with 776 runs to his name at a strike rate of 237.30, making him not just the winner of the Orange Cap but also awards for hitting the most sixes, the most valuable player, the emerging player of the season, and the Super Striker of IPL 2026.
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